Dispenser for collapsible tubes



July 31, 1934. J. E. TULIN DISPENSER FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES Filed Jan.12, 1934 INVENTOR J67? E. Tull 121/ y ATTORNEY WITNESSES Patented July31, 1934 mm srATEEs' PATENT orifice DISPENSER FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES JohnE. Tulin; Brooklyn, N. Application January 12, 1934, Serial No. 7063415Clain 1s. (01. 221-40) invention relates to dispensers for collapsibletubes-and has for an object to provide anflimproved construction whichmay befused for dispensing toothpastes, shaving creams and othersubstances used incollapsible tubes, the structure being such thatnormally the tube is maintained :closed or sealedbut may be quickly "1on the line 3-3 V I similar to thelower part of the structure-shown inFigure 2, but with the and automatically actuatedfor discharging adesired quantity of the contents of the tube. Another object :of theinvention is to provide an improved dispensing devicefor collapsibletubes wherein the tube is supported in a given positionwhennot in use,and in which a spring held dollower .eoacts to maintain the tube closedI and substantially sealed.

A further object of the present invention is to provide ia dispensingdevice for collapsible tubes "wherein @the tube is normally held in avertical position with :theopening therein covered, but which may bequickly moved to a substantiallyhorizontal position and thenacted on \tointermittently discharge certain measured quantitiespf'the materialcontained in the tube.

A stilllfurther object of tha -invention is to 7 provide a dispensingdevice for collapsible tubes wherein amanually actuated,intermittentfeed is;presented andconnected to thetube to cause the tube :toswingfromone position toan'other, and then intermittently dischargepredeter- 7 mined quantities of substance from the tube,

the intermittent feed :being such that it maybe readilyyactuatedonce ora large number of times and produce 1 substantially the same :quantityof discharge at "each operation;

In the accompanying drawing- 2 Figure 1 is alfront view of a dispensingde vice. disclosing an embodiment of the present invention, the samebeing shown applied to awall ready for use, part of the device beingshownin section to. better illustratecertain detailed parts; g l

Figure .2 is a sectional view through Figure 1 approximately on theline2j2; a

Figure 3 is a sectional view through Figure Figure 4 is a view tube andintermittent feed moved to a different position.

Referring to the accompanying drawing. by numerals, 1 indicates a basewhich acts as a support for the remaining parts of the device; excepttheispring 2 whichis secured in place on the wall by suitable screws 3'.Base 1 as clearly shown in .Fig. .2, at the .lowerend extends vertically.so

as to presenta platform 3 at the low'er end; and an upper platform 4having apertured ears 5 and-"6 which accommodate the supportingscrewsvand 8; The upper platform is providedwith anu'm ber of openings 9for the reception of tooth brushes orother articles. The platform 3 hasside upstanding ears "10 and 11, ear 10 being a'pe'r tured for receivingone end of "thewindi'ng 'me'm ber 12, which winding rnelmbt'er is a-lfiifurcated bar having ahead 13. bar is adapted to straddle the lowerend of the collapsible tube 14 and then be rotatedso as to wind the'tube'there= on. During the winding operation the tube presses against theplatform 3 and therefo'rethe tooth paste or other ingredient of the tubeis squeezed therefromthroug'h the usual neck "15 whichhas a suitableopening 16. The upstanding ear 11 is riveted or otherwise rigidlysecured to casing 17 formed preferably of sheet metal and provided withaslot 18. Shaft 12 extends through a suitable aperture in the flange 11and also throughcasing 17 to a point thereinas shown in Fig. 1. Theendsof the shaft are bent overto a right angled position so that it willbe 'held in place andin turn will hold in place certain of theintermittent feeding mechanism arranged within the casing 17. As shownin Fig. 11, there is provided a washer 17 for spacing the remainingpartsfrom the wall and casing 17, and adjacent-this washer 17 there isprovided a; ratchet wheel 19. Ratchet wheel 19 has two openings so thatthe respective bifurcated portions of shaft 12 may extend therethrough.By reason of this construction whenever the ratchet wheel 19 is movedthe shaft 12 will be moved to the same extent and in thesame direction.

Coacting with the ratchet wheel 19 and associated parts is a bar 20extending through the slot 18 and providedwith a thumb member 21exteriorly of the casing 17. Interior of the cas ing 1'? the bar isprovided with a turned over portion or spur 22 which is positioned toengage the teeth of the ratchet wheel '19 and move the.

ratchet wheel when the bar is swung from the position-shown in Fig.2 tothat shown in Fig. '4. Bar 20 in addition is provided with an elo'ngatedrectangular slot 23 which straddles the bearing washer 24 so that it mayslide back and forth but willmove with this washen v A spring 25 isconnected at 26 to an upstanding ear rigidly secured to casing 11. Onthe opposite sideof the casing there is arranged a second spring 28which is connected at 29 teen upstanding'ear preferably formed integralwith bar 20, a'ndgat toian upstanding ear welded or otherwise rigidlysecured to casing 11. These two springs have a tendency to normally holdthe parts in the position shown in Fig. 2 and to return the parts tothis position whenever permitted.

When it is desired to cause the bar 20 to function it is presseddownwardly as shown in Fig. 2 until the spur 22 engages one of the teethof the ratchet wheel 19 and is then rotated, for instance, to theposition shown in Fig. 4. This will cause the ratchet wheel 19 to rotateand also rod or shaft 12. The first movement in this direction of theparts as just described will cause the tube 14 to be moved to ahorizontal position as shown in Fig. 4. It will be understood that theclosure member 31 is raised manually before bar 20 is caused tofunction. After the parts have been moved to the position shown in Fig.4 bar 20 is released and will quickly and automatically move back to theposition shown in Fig. 2, though the tube 14 will remain pressingagainst the platform 3. The next functioning of the bar 20 will causethe rod or shaft 12 to rotate and wind a certain amount of the tube 14thereon. This will produce the desired ejecting action so that a certainquantity of the tooth paste or other material in the tube will beejected therefrom. By repeating this operation successive discharges maybe made.

It will be noted that a finger or thumb engages the thumb member 21 andpresses down upon the same so that the spur 22 will come immediatelyinto engagement with one of the teeth of the ratchet wheel 19. Afterthis has been done the thumb member is swung over to the position shownin Fig. 4, which will cause the ratchet wheel to partly rotate and carrywith it the rod or shaft 12 so as to wind part of the tube 14 thereon.As soon as the parts have been moved to the position shown in Fig. 4they are released and the springs 25 and 28 will quickly move the partsback to the other end of the slot 18, and will also cause the bar 20 tomove outwardly so that all the parts will assume the position shown inFig. 2, ready for another operation.

It will be understood that the parts may be operated once or a largenumber of times, as desired. After the desired number of operations hastaken place the tube 14 is swung upwardly to a vertical position. Duringthe upward swinging movement of the tube the ratchet wheel 19 will bepartly rotated but will present no resistance because the spur 22 is outof engagement therewith. As soon as the tube has been raised to itsvertical position the closure member 31 is moved downwardly to close theopening 16, as shown in Fig. 2. The closure member 31 is provided with acup-shaped outer part 32 which merges into a pair of arms 33 and 34,said arms being more or less resilient and. having enlargements and 36 aat their outer ends (Fig. 3). The enlargements 35 and 36 slidingly fitin a guide 37. The opening of the guide is such that when the arms 33and 34 are spread apart to the fullest extent they will not touch theside of the guide but the enlargements 35 and 36 will press against theside portions of the guide and produce a frictional grip so as to holdthe closure member 31 in various adjusted positions. When it is desiredto move the closure member 31 upwardly and away from the tube 14, thesame may be grasped and pulled up against the friction members 35 and36, but ordinarily the arms 33 and 34 are grasped and pressed togetherslightly and then moved upwardly, after which they are released andmembers 35 and 36 lowered to grip or press the sides of the guide 37.The guide 37 is of sufiicient length to permit the closure member 31 toslide down as the tube 14 is wound more and more on to shaft 12.

After the tube has been completely wound on shaft 12 so as to haveejected all of the contents of the tube, the head or wing nut 13 isrotated in a reverse direction for unwinding the tube. This may bereadily done because the ratchet wheel 19 is disconnected from the otherparts and will merely rotate in an idle manner in the reverse direction.After the tube has been completely unwound the lower end is pulledthrough the bifurcated members of the rod and then the end of a new tubeinserted and wound slightly. It is then swung upwardly to the positionshown in Fig. 2 and the closure member 31 applied thereto. The device isthen in condition for further operation.

I claim:-

1. A dispenser for collapsible tubes, comprising a supporting base, aguide mounted on said base, a closure member slidingly carried by saidguide, a shaft adapted to carry a tooth paste tube, and intermittentmeans acting on said shaft for rotating the same so as to wind said tubethereon, said tube being normallyheld by said shaft so that said closuremember may rest on the discharge end of the tube for closing the same.

2. A dispenser for tooth paste tubes and the like, including a memberfor supporting and intermittently squeezing the tooth paste tube, aclosure member for closing the open end of the tube, the closure memberincluding a head fitting against the tube, a pair of resilient armsextending from the head and a laterally extending friction memberarranged at the end of each of the arms, and a guide substantiallyenclosing said friction members and reacting therewith, to hold theclosure member in various adjusted positions.

3. A dispenser for dispensing the contents of collapsible tubes,comprising means for squeezing the tube to cause the contents to bedischarged therefrom, a closure member for normally closing said tube,said closure member including a pair of resilient arms, a guide, andmeans forming part of said arms interlocking with the guide forfrictionally holding said closure member in diiferent adjustedpositions.

4. A dispenser for collapsible tubes for dispensing the contentsthereof, comprising a rotatable shaft, means for supporting said shaft,said shaft having a slot for the reception of one end of the tube to becollapsed, a ratchet wheel connected to said shaft so as to rotatetherewith, a sliding and rotatable bar arranged adjacent the ratchetwheel, and a spur extending from said bar positioned to be moved intoengagement with the ratchet wheel when the bar is slid to one extremeposition, said bar being rockable whereby when said spur is engagingsaid ratchet wheel and then rocked said shaft will be rocked to the sameextent to produce a winding action in respect to said tube.

5. A dispenser for dispensing the contents of a collapsible tube bywinding the tube on a shaft, said dispenser including a shaft formedwith an opening for receiving the end of the tube to be collapsed, meansfor rotatably supporting said shaft, a casing supported by said means,said shaft extending into said casing, a ratchet wheel within the casingconnected with said shaft so as to rotate therewith, a rocking andsliding bar mounted on said shaft and extending through the casing so asto be manipulated, a spur extending from said shaft positioned tointerlock with the teeth of said ratchet wheel when the bar has beenslid in a given direction, and a, pair of springs acting on the casingand on the bar for normally holding the bar in a neutral position, saidbar being adapted to be slid from said

